THE ODYSSEY ,

by Homer
The Odyssey is a major Ancient Greek epic poem (*). It was
written by Homer, and it is a sequel to another story, the Iliad.
In its origin it was an oral epic poem, about the 11th century
BC. The hero of the poem is Odysseus, or Ulysses as he is
called in Latin; the poem is mythological, not historical.
The poem is the story of Odysseus's ten-year-long journey
home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. At the same time, his
wife Penelope has to fight off a lot of men who want to marry
her; and his son Telemachus searches for him.
Along the way, Odysseus and his men have to fight monsters
and many other dangers.

(*) Epic poems tell dramatic stories in the form of a poem. There are characters
in the story, and they are usually long.

Here is a summary of the Odyssey. Please read it carefully, and do

the activities. The words in bold are in the glossary.

Plot Overview

Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still
has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors
who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged his land continue to court his
wife, Penelope, because they all want to marry her. But she has remained
faithful to Odysseus, and rather than simply rejecting the suitors, Penelope
devises a plan to delay their courtship. She claims she will choose a husband
after she has finished weaving a funeral shroud to present to Odysseus' father,
Laertes. For three years, Penelope weaves the shroud during the day and
unravels it at night, awaiting her husband's return. The suitors learn of
Penelope's delaying tactic when one of her maidservants reveals it. Upon
finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them..
 Prince Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, wants desperately to throw them out but
does not have the confidence or experience to fight them. One of the suitors,
Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only opposition
to their dominion over the palace.

Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The beautiful nymph (1) Calypso,
possessed by love for him, has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He longs
to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help him escape.
While the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseus’s future,
Athena, Odysseus’s strongest supporter among the gods, resolves to help
Telemachus. Disguised as a friend of the prince’s grandfather, Laertes, she
convinces the prince to call a meeting of the assembly at which he reproaches
the suitors. Athena also urges Telemachus to stand up to the suitors and set out
in search of his father, so she prepares him for a great journey to Pylos and
Sparta. There, he is informed that that Odysseus is alive and trapped on
Calypso’s island. Telemachus makes plans to return home, while, back in
Ithaca, Antinous and the other suitors prepare an ambush to kill him when he
reaches port.

On Mount Olympus, Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso.

Hermes persuades Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and leave. The
homesick hero sets sail, but when Poseidon, god of the sea, finds him sailing
home, he sends a storm to wreck Odysseus’s ship. Poseidon has a grudge
against Odysseus since the hero blinded his son, the Cyclops(2) Polyphemus,
earlier in his travels. Athena intervenes to save Odysseus from Poseidon’s
wrath, and the beleaguered king lands at Scheria, home of the Phaeacians.
There, Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, shows him to the royal palace, and
Odysseus receives a warm welcome from the king and queen. When he
identifies himself as Odysseus, his hosts, who have heard of his exploits at
Troy, are stunned. They promise to give him safe passage to Ithaca, but first
they beg to hear the story of his adventures.

Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events leading up
to his arrival on Calypso’s island. He recounts his trip to the Land of the Lotus
Eaters, his battle with Polyphemus the Cyclops, his love affair with the
witch-goddess Circe, his temptation by the deadly Sirens, his journey into
Hades to consult the prophet Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster Scylla.
When he finishes his story, the Phaeacians help Odysseys to return to Ithaca,
where he seeks out the hut of his faithful swineherd, Eumaeus. Though
Athena has disguised Odysseus as a beggar, Eumaeus warmly receives and
feeds him in the hut. He soon encounters Telemachus, who has returned from
Pylos and Sparta despite the suitors’ ambush, and reveals to him his true
identity. Odysseus and Telemachus devise a plan to massacre the suitors and
regain control of Ithaca.
When Odysseus arrives at the palace the next day, still disguised as a beggar,
he endures abuse and insults from the suitors. The only person who recognizes
him is his old nurse, Eurycleia, but she swears not to disclose his secret.
Penelope takes an interest in this strange beggar, suspecting that he might be
her long-lost husband. Quite crafty herself, Penelope organizes an archery
contest the following day and promises to marry any man who can string
Odysseus’s great bow and fire an arrow through a row of twelve axes—a feat
that only Odysseus has ever been able to accomplish. At the contest, each
suitor tries to string the bow and fails. Odysseus steps up to the bow and, with
little effort, fires an arrow through all twelve axes. He then turns the bow on the
suitors. He and Telemachus, assisted by a few faithful servants, kill every last
suitor.

Odysseus reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving
Penelope. He travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes.
They come under attack from the vengeful family members of the dead suitors,
but Laertes, reinvigorated by his son’s return, successfully kills Antinous’s father
and puts a stop to the attack. Zeus dispatches Athena to restore peace. With
his power secure and his family reunited, Odysseus’s long ordeal comes to an
end.

(1) In Greek mythology, a nymph is a female spirit of nature

(2) In Greek mythology, a Cyclops is a giant with only one eye n he middle of his forehead.

GLOSSARY

- Ambush: emboscada
- Beggar: mendigo
- Call a a meeting: convocar una reunión
- Crew: tripulación
- Delay their courtship: retrasar su cortejo
- Disguised: disfrazado / a
- Exploit: hazaña
- Funeral shroud: sudario, mortaja
- Have a grudge: guardar rencor
- Homesick: añorante
- Hut: choza
 - Ordeal: prueba, calvario
- Quite crafty: bastante astuta
- Reach port: llegar al puerto
- Reproach: reprochar, recriminar
- Rowdy mob: una ruda muchedumbre
- String: poner la cuerda
- Stunned: atónito /a, pasmado / a
- Suitors: pretendientes
- Swineherd: porquero, quien cuida a los cerdos
- Unravel: deshacer, desmarañar
- Wrath: ira, rabia

ACTIVITIES
The characters
1. Complete the sentences using vocabulary for family members.

a) Penelope is Odysseus’s ………………………………………………….

b) Telemachus is Penelope and Odysseus’s ……………………………………….
c) Laertes is Telemachus’s ………………………………..……………..

2. Put the names in the correct box. One of the names can be in two
boxes.
Poseidon – Eurycleia – Antinous – Athena – Eumaeus – Sparta – Zeus –
Pylos - Ithaca

GOD / SERVANTS ENEMIES TO PLACES

GODDESS ODYSSEUS

The events of the story

3. Choose the correct name to complete each sentence.
Eumaeus – Calypso – Telemachus – Penelope – Odysseus – Polyphemus –
the Phaeacians - Antinous

a) ………………………………………… is a Cyclops.
b) ………………………………………… keeps Odysseus prisoner.
c) ………………………………………… prepares an ambush for Telemachus.
d) ………………………………………… takes care of pigs.
e) ………………………………………… blinds Polyphemus.
f) ………………………………………… travels to look for his father.
g) ………………………………………… helps Odysseus to return to Ithaca.
h) ………………………………………… organizaes an archery contest

4. Answer the questions.

a) What is Penelope’s plant to avoid getting married with one of the

suitors?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) Why can’t Telemachus throw the suitors out of the palace?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
c) When Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island, Poseidon, god of the sea,
sends a storm to destroy Odysseus’s ship. Why does he do that?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
d) What challenge does Penelope propose to the suitors, if they want to
marry her?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
e) Who is successful at the challenge?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
f) Who kills the suitors?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..